Climbing Shoe Reviews

Whether you're looking for soft climbing slippers or stiff-soled shoes for wide cracks, Climbing's gear testers will guide you to the best climbing shoes. Our many field testers wear out dozens of pairs of climbing shoes each year in the search for the best new climbing shoes. We also provide in-depth articles on how to choose, maintain, and resole your favorite shoes.

Before any epic alpine rock route, redpoint burn, or warm-up boulder, there sits the climber: slipping on, lacing up, or strapping down a pair of rock shoes. We know the bond between a climber and sticky rubber is nothing to make light of, so we called in 12 pairs of brand-new kicks for this fall to find the top models for every kind of adventure.

Comfort is king for shoes on alpine rock routes, especially if the climbing involves multiple standing belays, jamming wet cracks, or even some unroped scrambling. The new Hybrid (not to be confused with Millet’s old Hybrid shoe) is designed for comfort without sacrificing performance, with a padded tongue and collar and a cushioned heel that offers extra protection (it looks like the heel of a sneaker from the outside) on gravelly belay ledges or walk-offs in your climbing shoes.

The Diabolos feel precise but versatile with just enough comfort to keep sport and trad climbers happy all day on long granite routes or pumpy, overhanging limestone. “On Hot Dog (5.11b) in Clear Creek Canyon, I needed to pinpoint tiny nubs, heel-hook, and edge multiple times on each burn, and these were the perfect shoe,” one female tester said.

With a flat-lasted sole, suede leather uppers, and padded mesh lining for the heel cup and tongue, this shoe is super comfortable for full days of climbing. And the unlined toe box, tensioned rand, and 4mm Vibram XS Edge sole rubber create sensitivity and power on pockets and edges.

Instead of trying to add performance to a pure comfort shoe, La Sportiva took a top-of-the-line shoe and dialed back the aggressiveness by loosening the tensioning in the heel rand and flattening out the downturn. The result? A shoe that’s easy to wear all day, but still has enough high-end features (rigid forefoot for toeing in and edging, asymmetric toe for precision, and sticky Vibram XS Edge rubber) for performance on hard routes.

“Comfort-performance” seems like an oxymoron when talking about climbing shoes. Dime-edging and precision pocketing mean dealing with the features of purely performance shoes: a tight, toe-crunching fit and an aggressive downturn. Wearing purely comfort kicks can feel clunky or sloppy on hard routes. What about somewhere in between? Five companies have filled the void with their version of a “comfort-performance” shoe, meaning you won’t have to compromise.

“I’m in love,” said our longtime shoe tester of the Tenaya Ra ($140; trango.com). “I’ve worn them on everything from slab to dead-vertical to slightly overhanging to roofs, and they perform perfectly everywhere.” Whether you’re running a few dozen endurance laps or trying to redpoint your hardest boulder problem in the gym, you’ll find high-performance edging, hooking, and smearing.

When it comes down to it, rock shoes are the most important piece of climbing gear, whether you’re picking a path through a 5.5 or making magic on your first 5.14. So we rounded up the best new shoes available this fall and put them to the test. After more than a dozen testers sent routes from Rifle’s steep limestone to the 1,000-foot granite walls of Squamish to plastic paradises across the country, we narrowed the field to eight top performers.

New for 2010 are 19 models (plus two time-tested Mammut shoes) that will make you reconsider the perfect rock climbing shoe. Climbing magazine tested more than 20 new rock shoes; here are the testers' top picks.

Of all the things climbers accumulate, the rock shoe is one of the few that actually improves performance. Nearly everything else is designed primarily to keep you alive and relatively comfortable. When you find a perfect match for your feet, climbing shoes will encourage good footwork and make you a better climber. Wouldn’t it be great if every piece of gear could do that? Dozens of well-made shoes line the shelves of climbing stores, divided into categories such as beginner, high-performance, all-day, and crack climbing.

La Sportiva Futura: This downturned slipper-cum-Velcro is La Sportiva’s latest high-performance kick. Testers lauded the comfort and easy on-off (elastic ankle cuff with one Velcro strap), which make the Futuras perfect for bouldering and indoor training. The Futura received high marks for sensitivity, thanks to a 3mm Vibram XS Grip2 outsole. They also hook really well, with a heel that vacuum-fits a variety of foot shapes and sufficient toe-top rubber and forefoot flex.

Eleven shoes for the brutal joys of crack climbing - Trad veterans swear by their favorite crack shoe like it’s their momma’s secret fried chicken recipe. Whether they’re roomy high-tops (worn with tube socks), toe-crushing downturned sport shoes, or paper-thin slippers, every crack master has a favorite pair to don. The truth is that any rock boot can jam. But unless you value pain over pleasure, you’d best learn a few things about crack shoes—and try a bunch on—before next season’s stint at the Creek.

Not so long ago, you either bought trad shoes (comfy) or sport shoes (painful). Nowadays, the way people wear rock shoes has changed dramatically. What used to be a clear line between trad and sport shoes is all but obsolete, because the most important criterion for shoe selection—whether torquing toes in cracks or front-pointing limestone pockets—is fit. Alex Honnold, for example, wears the same pair of “sport shoes” (tight, heavily downturned, asymmetric) on everything from 5.13 cracks and Yosemite big walls to short, steep clip-ups. Most of us still prefer specialized shoes for various vertical genres, but fit should trump whatever the manufacturers (and magazines) recommend for a specific shoe.

After months of testing on hundreds of routes, we offer up our picks for the most innovative, useful, and just damn good gear of the year. The Singing Rock Crux, Mammut Smart Alpine, Black Diamond Gridlock Screwgate, Petzl Grigri 2, Five Ten Arrowhead, Arc'Teryx Squamish Hoody, Beal Joker 9.1, North Face Verto, and Salewa Rapace GTX all won our high praises and took home the Editors' Choice Award.

The Italian boot and shoemaker SCARPA has a long tradition of making quality footwear. In recent years, they’ve been stocking their line with top rock performers like the Booster, the Feroce, and the Techno. For spring 2010 they’ve continued the trend with six new models, among them the hard-cranking, well-balanced Instinct.

A bumper crop of sport, trad, and approach rigs - Shoe designers still find ways to tempt those of us who need the perfect shoe for a specific climb. So, as with last year, we asked them to send us their flagship high-performance sport/bouldering model and then a traddie version of the same. We recruited 15 testers with as many different foot shapes and ability levels, showing no mercy to our kicks on rock (and plastic) from coast to coast.

By Justin Roth - July 28, 2009 - The truth is, there just wasn't enough time to see all the companies I wanted to see on this trip. Three eight hour days looking at gear might seem like a lot, but with so many companies and products, it's just enough to explore the tip of the iceberg. Anyway, here are some of the rock-shoe highlights from my second and third days at the Summer Outdoor Retailer Show 2009, in very hot and sunny Salt Lake City.Â

Using skills and knowledge honed on El Cap’s burliest free walls, Tommy Caldwell helped design the new La Sportiva TC Pro . Made to shine on such mega-endeavors (or any trad line requiring comfort and high performance), the TC Pro combines advanced edging and crack capability with all-day wearability. Click here to buy now from MountainGear.com

By Chris Weidner - Not long ago, you either bought a trad shoe (stiff) or a sport shoe (painful). But nowadays, the way people wear shoes has changed  high-end tradsters will often wear the same model (sized up for comfort) on El Cap free routes they’d use on Rifle sport climbs. Still, with that in mind, it’s hard to know which shoes work best for you until you try them.

The shoe train keeps on rolling: Last year 38 new models debuted; this year another 28 models are entering the market. Whatever your climbing bliss might be, you’re sure to find a shoe that fits it, and you.

The Method, Montrail’s new unlined leather slipper, is a radical and innovative design. Cambered to mimic the structure of an active, pointed foot, the Method features strategically placed thermo-moldable foam pads over the tops of your toes and in the heel cup for a precise, customizable fit.

Rock shoes with EVA-foam padded heels are now widespread throughout the market. Designed to up the comfort factor for all-day climbing, these models have gained a dedicated following, but many people are turned off by their funky, chunky appearance.

Built on the same last as Mad Rock’s popular Flash, the unlined synthetic Maniac is a good shoe for entry-level climbers looking for a model that will take them from their first days in the gym to pushing themselves on harder routes and problems outside.

Devotees of radically steep bouldering and sport climbing fall into two categories: those who like to smear and paste on whatever feature is nearby, and those whose technique involves precise edging and frontpointing.

Five Ten’s Anasazi Velcro slipper has a large, loyal following, but many who use it find themselves wishing it were just a little more comfortable for all-day use. Enter the Galileo, built on a similar last and with the same construction, but a bit stiffer and a little more relaxed.

Many climbers find themselves stuck in a gray area as they progress into the 5.10 level. Going from board-lasted and supportive entry-level shoes to soft, high-end performance models can be an abrupt transition.

Its a golden time to be in the market for shoes. In the past few years, innovative new companies have burst onto the scene, and established manufacturers have stepped up their R&D in response. We now have an unprecedented array of shoes from which to choose, with over 125 models on the market.

Its a golden time to be in the market for shoes. In the past few years, innovative new companies have burst onto the scene, and established manufacturers have stepped up their R&D in response. We now have an unprecedented array of shoes from which to choose, with over 125 models on the market.

Its a golden time to be in the market for shoes. In the past few years, innovative new companies have burst onto the scene, and established manufacturers have stepped up their R&D in response. We now have an unprecedented array of shoes from which to choose, with over 125 models on the market.

Its a golden time to be in the market for shoes. In the past few years, innovative new companies have burst onto the scene, and established manufacturers have stepped up their R&D in response. We now have an unprecedented array of shoes from which to choose, with over 125 models on the market.

The Troodon sports a solid edging platform and high rubber rands, making it a decent performer on face routes. However, the unlined Troodon falls short on fit, mainly due to its ineffective single Velcro strap and chunky elastic tongue.